1. Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun held a working luncheon with Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Mark Field on January 4, during which the two sides discussed ways that the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland could ensure a post-Brexit continuity in friendship, cooperation, trade and investment, as well as the current situation on the Korean Peninsula.

2. Vice Minister Cho voiced hope that the ROK and the UK, which had held bilateral summit talks in October 2018 on the occasion of an ASEM event and the fourth bilateral foreign ministerial strategic dialogue in July 2018, would maintain the momentum of robust high-level exchanges in 2019, a meaningful year marking the 70th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations, and thereby would create a new milestone in the bilateral ties.

3. The two sides exchanged views on Brexit-related developments, including the forthcoming vote by the UK House of Commons on the final version of the Brexit agreement, and outlooks. They agreed to work to ensure a post-Brexit continuity in the bilateral trade and investment ties and to protect business operations, as well as to cooperate continually and closely in further advancing the bilateral relations.

° Minister of State Field, taking note of the close ROK-UK cooperation, stressed that the UK government, while bracing itself for all possible Brexit-related developments, placed its top priority on ensuring continuity in its economic and trade ties with the ROK and moving its relations with the country forward.

° Vice Minister Cho, calling the UK the ROK’s No. 2 trade and investment partner in Europe as well as the ROK government’s main partner for diplomacy toward Europe, suggested that the two sides continually and closely consult with each other to thoroughly brace themselves in advance for all possible Brexit-related developments.

4. The two sides exchanged views regarding the new year’s address by Chairman Kim Jong-un and other developments on the Korean Peninsula; and discussed ways the ROK and the UK can coordinate toward a complete denuclearization and the establishment of a permanent peace.

° Vice Minister Cho, bringing renewed attention to the commitment reaffirmed by the ROK and UK leaders in their summit talks in October 2018 to close cooperation toward a complete denuclearization and the establishment of a permanent peace, asked the UK, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to continue rendering strong cooperation and support on efforts to achieve significant progress in 2019 toward a complete denuclearization and the establishment of a permanent peace.

° Minister of State Field stressed that the UK was highly supportive of the ROK government’s efforts to achieve a complete denuclearization and establish a lasting peace, adding that the UK would play whatever role it needed to and render support to the extent necessary along the way.

5. Minister of State Field’s visit to the ROK is seen to have served as a significant opportunity to reaffirm the two sides’ shared position that their already-close bilateral economic cooperative ties should continue to advance even after Brexit; and to discuss specific ways to work together to that end.

* unofficial translation